Extension of lockdown on the cards

27/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Chennai, its neighbouring areas and Madurai may face yet another extension of the lockdown beyond May 3 if the COVID-19 graph keeps climbing, according to a senior government official.

One of the obvious reasons for the authorities to contemplate such a move is that all these areas fall under ‘red’ zones.

After the first phase of lockdown between March 25 and April 15, the second is now in progress. It is scheduled to end on May 3. The rationale behind the complete lockdown is that only if there is “more curfew” is there a likelihood of “less social interaction”. In Chennai, residents will be served by at least 3,000 mobile vegetable units besides 4,949 pushcarts.

On Saturday alone, over 5,000 tonnes of produce was sold through mobile units. In the last month, nearly 80,000 tonnes of vegetables and fruits was sold across the State.

On an average, the people were buying around 7,200 tonnes of vegetables and fruits since the beginning of the lockdown in March.